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ELLIOTT ELLIOTT
ELLIOTT ELLIOTT OPTICIANS comllyAR4h lit PERTH
OPTICIANS
John f Iliolf mgr.
Piccadilly Arcade
Ex-Marisl.
Bros:
Perth
.Siudeof
Tel. B 7988
Tel. 87988 PERTH, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1944.
NO. 3,144.
SEVENTY-FIRST YEAR.
PRICE THREEPENCE.
Rap Catholic. Vission to liatives to be aablished at Wandering Brook His Grace Reviews Half-Caste Problem . . . Church's Missionary Mandate Over -Rides Racial Distinctions Pallotine Fathers and St. John of God
\uns to vlinister to Blacks
His Grace the Archbishop announced
on Friday last that a Mission Station for Natives in the Archdiocese of Perth was being established at Wandering Brook, near the townsite of
Wandering. "For some time past I have given consideration to this establishment," said His Grace. "I have long felt that little or nothing is being done for the full-blooded, half-castes, and quadroon natives in the southern portion of Western Australia, and from time to time I have learned with perturbation of the fact that many are drifting into the Great Southern towns and In leading idle and dissolute lives. 1940 the Federal Director of Native Affairs, Mr. E. W. P. Chinnery, in his report to the Federal Government, recommended considerable extensions of the use of Missions in assisting aborigines and half-castes, and the Commonwealth census, taken in that same year, revealed that the half-caste population Of the total had trebled since 1901. number of half-castes in Australia, 18.9 per cent. are in Western Australia. The foregoing merely confirmed my view that we have, here in Western Australia, a very real problem which must be faced. I realise that even in peace time there are many obstacles in the way of establishing such a Mission, and that in times of war these Nevertheobstacles are multiplied. less, I resolved last year to proceed with the establishment of the Mission and commenced preliminary investigations with the Government." "Difficulties in the work of conversions are not a reason for relaxation of effort, but for intensification," His "Every soul is inGrace continued. comparably precious inasmuch as it was created by God for Himself, and was bought with the blood of our ReNo matter the colour nor deemer. circumstance; the most uncivilised say.
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age remains a child of God and is the dwelling place of an immortal soul whose destiny is the eternal Kingdom of God." The Archbishop intimated that the Mission Station would need to be selfsupporting so far as is possible, and that considerable work must be found
far the natives to help provide fdr their material needs, and also because suitable employment is necessary to assist in their spiritual and moral rehabilitation. The proposal to establish the Mission has received the approbation of His Excellency the Apostolic Delegate (Most Rev. John Panico, D.D., J.U.D.), and at its last meeting the National Episcopal Committee of the Pontifical Mission Aid Societies allocated an amount of £1,500 towards the establishment costs. This sum will help considerably but it will, of course, only cover part of the expenses. After preliminary pererrations and discussions, it has been decided to establish the Mission at Wandering Brook, near the townsite of Wandering, adjacent to the main road froin This position is Perth to Williams. regarded as being central and all of the natives within the area extending to Dwarda, Boddington, Narrogin, ianis, Pingelly and Brookton will be within the ambit of the Station, and no other Missionary areas will overlap. The Minister for Native Affairs has duly issued an authority in favour of the Archbishop to establish the Station, which is to be named "St. Francis Xavier's Native Mission Station." At the present time, the Surveyor General, the Commissioner of Native Affairs, and the Conservator of Fore'sts are conferring with regard to the gazettal of a large Native Reserve within which the Mission Station is to be erected. The central area com-
prises an abandoned farm of 2,600 acres mortgaged to the Agricultural Bank. and the Crown will clear the mortgage in order that this may be included in the reserve. Additionally, Crown and forest lands will also be included, and an area of not less than 7,000 acres, and possibly 11,000, will be gazetted. The area selected for the Missionary building will be granted by the Crown in fee simple to the Archdiocese of Perth. Arrangements are now being made to define the best position for the construction of the roadway into the Mission Station, and the work of building the road will be put in hand as quickly as possible. The distance to the Mission Station from Perth will be 76 miles, and that 'of this distance 72 miles will traverse the Perth-Williams and Williams-Pingelly roads. The Mission Station, when established will therefore be approximately the same distance from Perth as New Norcia is -within easy distance of the City, yet sufficiently remote from the larger towns to preclude the natives being unduly influenced by contact with the settlers. An invitation to staff the Mission has been accepted by His Lordship Bishop Raible, P.S.M., in his position as Superior of the Pious Society of Missions. The Superior and Manager of the Mission Station will be Very Rev. Albert Scherzinger, P.S.M., who has had many years of experience among the blacks in Western Australia, and who will bring to the Mission the benefit of his comprehensive knowledge of natives and their customs. He will be assisted by Brothers similarly experienced among natives and competent agriculturalists.
As the Mission Station will include an orphanage, the Archbishop has invited the Nuns of St. John of God, of Broome and Beagle Bay, to found a Convent and to staff the Orphanage and care for the women and girls on the Station. The Provincial has readily agreed to supply the staff and, additionally, will, if necessary, send south trained half-caste girls to assist the Sisters. Father Scherzinger will arrive in Perth early next week to complete arrangements regarding the construction of the road and the prefabrication and erection of the first missionary building. The difficulty of readily obtaining materials, etc., will, no doubt, result in some delay, but nevertheless, it is intended to proceed as rapidly as possible with the actual establishment. In concluding the announcement, His Grace the Archbishop said that he wished to express publicly his sincere appreciation of the ever ready cooperation and kindly interest taken in the proposal by the Commisisoner of He Native Affairs, Mr. F. I. Bray. also wished to thank the Minister controlling the Department of Native Affairs (the Hon. A. A. Coverley), and the Minister for Lands (the Hon. F. J. S. Wise). He was also grateful to the officer of the Agricultural Bank who accompanied the party which selected the Mission site, Mr. W. Vickery. To all those who in any way assisted with the preliminary arrangements, His Grace expressed his thanks and the wish that the Catholic people of the Archdiocese of Perth would show their appreciation of the Governmental aid given to the Church in its important work, by assisting the foundation in every way possible.
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